Cockatoo lump on face.

[kali]

I am contacting two TV shows. A Current Affair and Today Tonight, as well as the police and RSPCA.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish writing it down tonight. Every time i try i get distracted.

[Ashling]

For anyone who doesn't know, lorikeets on a seed diet eventually die from malnutrition. Lories eat a predominantly liquid diet of nectar, flowers and fruits in the wild and use a palate on the roof of their mouths to scrape nectar from the brush tongue and into the mouth. The hard seeds destroy the palate on the roof of their mouths so they can't eat nectar effectively any more. Besides that, seed alone doesn't come CLOSE to the nutritional requirements and as a result the birds are condemned to early deaths for a completely preventative cause. MAKES ME SICK TO THE STOMACH! IDIOTS! Grrrrrrrr!!!

[RXK]

Originally Posted by kali

Yep, they can here. I was speaking to a vet and she told me that some people bought in a dog they didn't want anymore, nothing wrong with it, but they wanted it put down. The vet complied with their request.

i have no words for this, just sadness at the thought.

[RXK]

Originally Posted by kali

I am contacting two TV shows. A Current Affair and Today Tonight, as well as the police and RSPCA.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish writing it down tonight. Every time i try i get distracted.

Kali, thank you for doing what you're doing....

[kali]

Originally Posted by RXK

Kali, thank you for doing what you're doing....

The saddest thing is that no one else has done this already

I will get them.

[prettypenguin]

My heart goes out to those poor little birds. I hope they get shut down!

[Chief's Mom]

First, I just wanted to say Kudos to you for trying to help these unfortunate animals and especially Cookie. Even though there will always be an inhumane petstore, every bird we remove from that situation is one less that has to live through that horror.

I also wanted to let you know about a few things regarding a sub-q emphysema. Kiwi, our OWA, has had one for quite a few months now. It got so bad, that our vet had to implant a stint like the one posted earlier. Hers was in her wing, and when filled with air, her wing would stand out almost perpendicular to her body. It started as a small 'pouf' at the top of her shoulder but progressively got worse over time, even during treatment. We believe she fell while trying to fly and this was the trauma that caused it. (She was likely born with a folicle defect and is missing three primary wing feathers, so her flying leaves lots to be desired ) A birds respitory/lung/air sac system is complex and interconnected, so much so, that her wing would be flat first thing in the morning and after her morning tyrade of flapping and talking to everyone, it would be filled up like a balloon again. From the way my vet described it, a rupture on the face would be less likely to get bigger as there is less movement than in the wing. Dr. Rich also mentioned many times (to calm my frazzled nerves, I'm sure) that this is not fatal, but can be uncomfortable. I would imagine that Cookie's lack of proper care elsewhere is causing more harm than the rupture, however, the discomfort could cause behavioral issues such as plucking.

The first step a vet would normally take in treatment would be to remove the air with a tiny needle, so you may not see any evidence of this on the bird. Dr. Rich did this to Kiwi twice, but her's just kept puffing up. The third time he removed the air, he placed a compression bandage around her wing to hold it down. Obviously this won't be possible on Cookie's face, so I'm not sure how they would handle it. The easiest way I understood it from the vet (and this is not in medical terms at all!) is that you want the two layers of skin to stick together again, sort of like with rubber cement (you put it on both items, let it air dry, then stick the items together). To get rid of the pocket, the two layers must not get air between them while healing, hence the compression bandage holding them together. Of course, little Miss Kiwi is not one to be confined, so the bandage was quickly attacked, over and over again. So then the stint was placed. The stint acts like a little straw, allowing air to flow out while still letting the two layers of skin stay together to heal.

I suck at explaining things, so I apologize if the above makes no sense , but my point is that although it looks bad, as long as the vet is following up, I would be more concerned with doing what it takes to get this petstore taken care of. And I'd keep on them about going down on the price of Cookie. My vet helped us out a good bit since my husband was out of work, but even still, the procedures the Kiwi needed were not all that costly. And Dr. Rich openly admitted that she was one of his most difficult sub-q patients. (For some reason, I have this strange feeling that all of my birds are on his 'difficult patient' lists ) Good luck with everything!!

[kali]

Chief's Mom, Thansk for the info. I can use it to fight the good fight :)

Really, i don't have room for another bird (Luke's words, not mine lol, i'd do away with all the furniture for another bubbie) unless i get an aviary. I want him, but having the space and the money to buy him is a diff story. Luke refuses to have a cockatoo in the house. I understand, i know how loud they are...

Doesn't stop me from WANTinG him though.